Our Team

Andy Lilley MARLA

Company Director

Andy Lilley has lived in Cambridgeshire all his life and moved to the local area 20 years ago. He is very aware of landlords and vendors requirements to maximise their income from their property whilst maintaining realistic expectations. Andy oversees the sales and lettings across all three branches of Optima and deals with the day to day running of Optima. Andy is thrilled that Optima has been selected as a finalist in the category of medium business in the Fenland Enterprise Business Awards 2017.

Claire Lilley FARLA FNAEA

Company Director

Claire Lilley has been working in the property industry for 20 years and is very experienced in lettings with an extensive knowledge of the residential lettings industry. Claire has a Level 5 Diploma in Residential Letting and Management enabling her to become a Fellow of the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) and she has good knowledge of legal aspects of letting and management. Claire is also a Fellow of the National Association of Estate Agents having gained the technical award in Residential Sales in July 2012. Claire is also a landlord herself and is familiar with the day to day requirements and responsibilities involved. Claire is very pleased to have been nominated and selected as a finalist in the category of Commercial Business Person of the Year in the Fenland Enterprise Business Awards two years running in 2017 and 2018.

Jo Rix CeMap BA(Hons)

Mortgage Consultant

Jo has been working within the property industry since 2000 beginning as a Sales Negotiator and she subsequently trained as a mortgage advisor gaining her CeMap qualification in 2003. Since then Jo has worked within a large corporate estate agency covering an extensive area of Fenland. Away from work, Jo enjoys dancing and performing with a local amateur dramatic society and spending time with her son. Jo is thrilled to have been selected as a finalist in the category of best new business in the Fenland Enterprise Business Awards 2017 and is looking forward to finding the outcome.

Simon Smith

Branch Manager

Simon returns to us after a brief spell in Peterborough. He originally worked in the Chatteris branch but has returned as Branch Manager for the Wisbech office. Simon has over 20 years of background working in sales and lettings having worked in both corporate and independent agencies during that time. Simon has a wealth of knowledge and experience and living locally is familiar with the market throughout the area. He very much enjoys working as part of a team and is enjoying the challenge of managing the Wisbech branch and continuing to build sales and lettings there..

Cassie Miller MARLA (inv) ANAEA

Branch Manager

Cassie has been working in the property industry all her working life beginning with the Company in an administrative position, she progressed into her role as sales negotiator joining the NAEA in 2016 and in January 2018 she was appointed Branch Manager. Cassie is familiar with all aspects of sales and lettings and deals with sales from valuation, through negotiating and sales progression to completion and she particularly enjoys being involved with clients from the beginning to the end of their sales needs. Cassie was delighted to relocate to the re-furbished March branch and continues to flourish in her role in the new environment.

Sam Halpin

Lettings Negotiator

Sam joined the March branch in September 2017 she joins us with lettings experience from an independent agency based in St Ives. Sam came to us following re-location to the local area. She carries out rental valuations and appraisals as well as dealing with the legal aspects of preparing tenancies and move-in paperwork and managing the property. Away from work Sam has a family and enjoys working out at the gym.

Kirsty McCreery

Trainee Sales and Lettings Negotiator

Kirsty joined optima in July 2018 having previously worked in another sales role. She is a junior sales and lettings negotiator learning under Simon’s expert guidance. Kirsty enjoys spending time with her family and travelling and is enjoying the challenge of her new role.

Jenny Kelly

Property Manager

Jenny started work with Collingwoods Estate Management over 20 years ago and is very experienced in all areas of both commercial and residential sales and lettings. Jenny assists with lettings in our March branch and she is also experienced in block management and handles commercial valuations in both sales and lettings. Jenny’s knowledge and memory of March, the local area and its inhabitants, is unrivalled and she can always be relied upon when an enquiry comes in to use the “just a minute” and after some thought can recite details on previous sales! Away from work Jenny enjoys spending time with her extended family, playing darts and Crib.

Tracey Smith

Branch Administrator

Tracey has been with the company since its inception and is the branch administrator for the Chatteris office combining work with a busy family life with two young children. Tracey is a key member of the team carrying out tenant referencing and liaising with tenants and landlords regarding tenancies. She also handles some maintenance issues and arranges Gas Safe inspections of properties annually.

Jenni Stephen

Administrator

Jenni joined Optima in September 2015 having previously worked for another local agency. She has lived in Cambridgeshire all her life and has a good knowledge of the local area as a result. Jenni is one of our administrators and property managers and is now based in our Wisbech branch having previously been in Chatteris and also covering March. She likes to move around! She combines day to day administrative tasks such as rent receipts with arranging routine and emergency maintenance visits. Jenni combines working with bringing up her family and is always kept busy.

Tracy Mantovani

Property Inspector

Tracy joined Optima in February 2016 as a dedicated property inspector. Tracy’s role ensures continuity of visits and enables us to more accurately monitor ongoing situations between inspections and at the end of the tenancy. Mother-of-two, Tracy also carries out Legionella Assessments, inventories and in October 2017 she qualified as a Domestic Energy Assessor which enables us to offer yet another service to landlords and vendors without needing to outsource instructions. Tracy provides the all-important link between landlord and tenant to enable a smooth move out and reduce the likelihood of any dispute regarding deposits as a result of her pre-move out inspection and advice to tenants.

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